


You Are My Sunshine... My Only Sunshine

by Mid_Nightmare



Series: Starker Week 2018 [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Established Relationship, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fix-It of Sorts, Heavy Angst, Hurt Tony Stark, I fixed it, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Underage Relationship(s), M/M, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Sorry Not Sorry, Sort Of, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-08 15:29:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15246339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mid_Nightmare/pseuds/Mid_Nightmare
Summary: Peter is gone, nothing but ash in Tony's arms. How can he go on when his sunshine is gone and the world looks so dark?Or The Avengers, specifically Carol Danvers, come in to save the now broken Tony Stark by dragging him into another battle against Thanos. Maybe this time it will end in his favor instead of against.Prompt Four of Starker Week!!





	You Are My Sunshine... My Only Sunshine

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, guys!  
> So this is different compared to everything else that I've posted so far for this week, but I really think you guys will like it. I promise it has a happy ending, so give it a chance!!  
> Hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading! Much love!!

Ever since Titan, Tony hasn’t left his penthouse. He refuses to answer any phone calls, locks everyone out of the tower, and barely even eats. He has no desire to eat. The only thing he does anymore is curl up in bed and drink. It’s hard to leave his room. Everything reminds him of Peter, not that his bedroom doesn’t, but at least in bed, he can curl up with Peter’s pillow and pretend that the boy is still there. Or that the only reason that he’s sleeping alone is because it’s a school night, and they don’t want May to find out before they were ready.

Of course, the lies only help to ease his broken heart a fraction, and each morning when he wakes up, faces a new day, another day without his sunshine at his side, the shards of glass that receded from his lies the night before push in deeper than ever.

It’s a particularly bad day today. He happens to leave his room and wander into the living room, dropping himself on the couch with another bottle of whiskey. He’s prepared to settle down and just drown himself until he passes out again. Of course, nothing in his life went his way.

He reaches blindly for the remote that controls the television, but instead, his hand wraps around a small box. In his haze, he pulls the box closer, a furrow between his brows because  _ what the hell is this? _

His voice catches in his throat as he opens the box and nestled between the soft velvet is a red and gold ring with a piece of his original arc reactor glowing in the center like a diamond. He could see the faint inscription on the inside, and the words came back to him without having to read them. “ _ My heart, my sunshine, I love you _ ,” he whispers softly to himself.

Once the words are out of his mouth, the dams break. The tears fall from his eyes in rivers. His breathing comes in the harshest gasps as his throat tightens, heart feeling like it’s being torn from his chest. A scream of agony, one similar to that of a wounded animal, rips from his throat as his hand closes tightly around the box. He curls into himself and presses the box against his chest.

The sobs racking through his body cause his entire frame to tremble and jerk with each shuddering breath as he tries desperately to get a lungful of air. It doesn’t work as his hyperventilating only gets worse, and he doesn’t even realize that he’s screaming. He grabs the bottle beside him and throws it across the room, watching it shatter against the glass as he turns his head up to the ceiling. “Why couldn’t you take me?” he screams. “Why did you take him?”

His sobs only increase in volume as his anger is suddenly fueled. His foot goes through the glass coffee table, and suddenly he’s tearing the room apart. The couch is upside down, the vases are smashes. His paintings are ripped down and thrown across the room. He stumbles on a broken piece of a chair and falls to the ground, his head suddenly spinning. He gasps for another lungful of air, but his thoughts are so jumbled, so confused and moving too quickly, and suddenly he’s retching.

With a hard jerk and a horrific retch, Tony is puking up the alcohol that’s been settled in his stomach mixed with leftover pizza that he’s been living on for near a week. His shoulders shake with the strength of his vomiting, and more tears are being squeezed out of his eyes as his fingers curl into the carpet under him. It’s minutes before he can finally stop throwing up, and he’s gasping again as he leans back and flops onto the floor, panting heavily.

The scent of bile and booze fills his nose, and he retches again before turning onto his side away from the mess. He sees the box on the ground, sitting surprisingly upright and hidden in the shattered glass. He reaches out for it, cursing as his fingers are sliced open on the shards of glass. Eventually he grabs it and pulls it back, curling around his bleeding hand and the box with his hidden and now shattered future.

“It should have been me,” he whispers to himself, over and over like a mantra, a prayer. He wishes for death, more than he ever has before when faced with depression and his anxiety attacks. His crying begins to slow, tears still running but the sobs have stopped, and his chest is starting to slow down as he gets real air.

It’s a matter of minutes, but it feels like an eternity. The blackness surrounds him, and he falls into a sleep that he hopes will be dreamless, but he hasn’t had that luxury since Peter had turned to ash in his arms. His brain kept running through that moment, Peter’s words replaying over in his head as he watches his everything die once again.

  
  


“I haven’t gotten through to Tony since he got back.” Pepper Potts is always firm and strong, but right now her voice is shaken and scared. “Please, I can’t get Friday to let me inside. He’s removed my emergency access.”

The Avengers, well what’s left of them, is standing in front of her, looking up at the building that they all use to call home. “We’ll do everything we can to get him out. We need him. We all do.” Steve says before gently resting his hand on Pepper’s shoulder.

“Do you want to come in with us?” Natasha asks, glancing at Pepper when she looks away from the dark building.

Pepper nods slightly, fighting the tears in her eyes. Tony, while he has his flaws and they’ve suffered hardships, Tony is still her best friend. She still loves him like a brother. “Please. It’s been weeks since I’ve seen him. I… I don’t even know if he’s alive,” she whispers.

Rhodey leans in and hugs her against his side, his own face showing just how nervous and worried he is as well. “Then let’s not waste anymore time. We need to get everything together.”

The team nods before walking into the Tower. The bottom floor isn’t locked to them, but Pepper had warned them beforehand that she was always able to walk inside, but she was never allowed in the elevator or any of the other rooms, including the stairs.

“Friday,” Steve calls up to the ceiling, “We need to see Tony. Will you let us onto his floor?”

The familiar robotic voice responses to them; “Mr. Stark has removed all access of anyone entering any part of the Tower besides this floor.”

“Friday, please, we need to see him,” Pepper tries to persuade.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Potts, but Mr. Stark was adamant that no one enter his floor.”

“Can you show us the live feed of where he is?” Clint asks, adjusting the strap on his shoulder.

“Mr. Stark is not currently awake to grant me access to that request.”

The group shuffles slightly, each person trying to think of some way to enter the building. “Friday, tell Stark we’re here to help. We need his help.”

“Mr. Stark is not responding to my questions,” Friday responses once more.

The nerves begin to grow between the group. “Friday, is he sleeping?” Rhodey calls.

“Mr. Stark is not responding to my attempts to reach him.”

“Friday, Peter has given us permission to enter.” The voice is strong and firm, and it holds a tone that leaves little room to argue, but it also is completely unknown to Pepper. The rest of the gang turn and look at their newest member, Carol Danvers.

“Peter? Who’s Peter?”

“I am unfamiliar with your presence, please identify yourself,” Friday speaks.

Carol steps closer to the front of the group, only standing behind Steve and Pepper instead of at the tail end of everyone. “My name is Carol Danvers. Peter has granted us permission to enter and to help Mr. Stark. He has even provided me with the overriding emergency code to prove to you.”

The rest of the group is staring curiously at Carol, but they have all had their own run-ins with the woman. She claims that she knows how to defeat Thanos, and she has proven to them all in various ways that she knows a lot more about them, then they do about her. “Please enter Mr. Parker’s code to gain access.”

With this statement, a small keyboard extends from next to the elevator keys, and Carol slips by Steve to punch in a code. A small confirmation is given to them before the keypad returns to its compartment and the elevator doors open to them.

“Mr. Stark is currently in the penthouse,” Friday tells them as they all rush into the open space and hit the highest number available.

“Thank you, Friday,” Pepper says, and the sincerity is so deep unlike they've ever heard before.

“Thank you, Ms. Danvers.” They swore it sounded as if the AI was relieved, was thankful to be allowed to let the people enter and help her creator, but that couldn’t possibly be right. Friday wasn’t that advanced now, was she?

The ride up is tense and quick, and once the doors open, all of them have equal reactions of shock. The living room is in pieces. The furniture is all broken and upturned. Glass and porcelain covers the floors with shreds of expensive fabrics. The smell of bile and stale booze hangs heavy in the air.

“Oh, my god,” Pepper whispers in horror, her petite hand coming up to cover her mouth. “Oh, Tony!” she cries, tears beginning to slip past her mascara-covered lashes and down her pale cheeks.

“He’s over here,” Carol says in determination as she stalks deeper into the room, stepping over the pile of vomit and taking a few more steps before crouching down behind an upended chair. The rest follow quickly, careful to not step on anything, as the uneasiness rises. None of them were prepared for what they saw.

Tony was curled into a ball on the floor, dried vomit on his chin and dried tears across his face. Blood was cooling on his hands where it had trickled across all of his fingers. His clothes were filthy, grease stains and other various odd stains that one assumed was alcohol or food. He clearly hadn’t shaved as his normal clean and short beard was now several inches in length and matted. His hair had grown as well, and it appears a lot more gray has started to fill the chocolate brown.

“Tony!” Pepper cries again, and this time, the tears are actively falling as a sob rips threw her throat. She leans down and begins to shake the man’s shoulder. “Tony! Tony, wake up! Tony!” The rest gather around, helping to try and wake the man up, and after several minutes, he begins to stir.

The group leans back slightly as hazy brown eyes blink open before a painful sounding cough tears through his throat, causing the man to turn onto his side and violently jerk with the strength of his lungs trying to start working properly once more.

Pepper is rubbing his back, trying to soothe the man who dry heaves a few times between his ragged gasps. He rolls back onto his back before finally realizing the company he has. “W-What are you doing here?” he grunts, and his voice is much deeper, much rougher than any of them remember.

“We came to check on you. I’ve been trying for weeks, but Friday wouldn’t let me.” Pepper explains, her small hands gently rubbing along Tony’s sternum in her own form of comfort.

“FRIDAY wasn’t supposed to let anyone in,” Tony grunts, taking the help that he’s offered to sit up a bit. He takes the glass of water held out to him and downs a few gulps, wetting his dry and ruined throat. “How did you get in?”

“Peter helped us in,” Carol says. The words cause a tension to appear between Tony’s shoulders, and his breathing is suddenly a bit rougher again.

“W-What do you mean  _ Peter _ helped you in?” he asks, voice filled with grief and confusion. “He couldn’t have helped you.”

“Listen, Tony,” this time it’s Steve talking, and he’s crouching down in front of his friend (no matter what happened between them in Germany, he will always think of Tony as his friend, and he hopes to be able to repair their relationship once everything with Thanos is done) with a look of concern. “This is Carol. She’s like us, a super. She goes by the name Captain Marvel. Fury messaged her before he too disappeared all those weeks back. Carol knows how to fix this, knows how to get everyone back. We just need to get everyone together to fight one last time.”

Tony barks out a humorless laugh as he fights to stand, pushing away the help even as he stumbles and nearly falls, only catching himself on Clint’s chest. He rights himself, pocketing the box with Peter’s ring before looking back at Steve. “I’m not fighting him again. I’ve fought him twice and lost both times. I’m not about to go back for another round just to lose once again.”

“But Tony, with Carol’s help and Thor’s Stormbreaker, we should be able to defeat him this time.” Natasha tries to reason.

“We  _ should _ be able to beat him.  _ Should! _ Last I checked, should doesn’t mean definitely, Nat! What the hell are we going to do? We’ve got half the people we had last time according to your stories, and Thanos has all six Stones. How the  _ fuck _ are we going to beat him?”

“Because I know things that he doesn’t,” Carol responds coolily from off to the side.

Tony rolls his eyes and staggers towards the bar to grab another bottle. “Yeah, and some chick with a dumb name is suppose to help us when the entire Avengers plus all of Wakanda’s task force  _ and _ some other various faces couldn’t? I doubt it.” He goes to take a drink from the bottle, but her next words cause his blood to run cold.

“Peter asks that you stop drinking so much. He’s scared that you’re killing yourself with the amount you’ve been consuming.”

Tony’s head turns to look at her, and there hidden behind the tears welling up in his eyes is a fury that none of them have ever seen. “What the  _ fuck _ do you know about Peter? How could you know what he’s thinking?” he spits.

Carol merely shrugs slightly as her arms cross over her chest. “I can see the people that Thanos has hidden inside of the Soul Stone. They all speak to me and tell me various things I need to know to get people to help me. Peter is the one missing for you. He’s never left your side even though you can’t see him due to the Reality Stone. He’s terrified you’re going to die before he has a chance to come back.”

Tony pales again, skin turning slightly green before he raises the bottle again. “I don’t need any other insane magicians telling me bullshit.”

“I’m not a magician, but if you don’t believe me, I’ll tell you things only you and him know.” Tony rolls his eyes before taking a long drink of the whiskey only to choke mid-swallow as Carol continues. “Your anniversary is on November 24th. It happened a few weeks after he managed to stop Toomes from taking down your plane on Moving Day. You had offered to make him a part of the team, but he turned it down, yet you stayed close. Told him to report directly to you instead of Happy.”

Tony let out a breath through his nose before setting the bottle down and sighing softly to himself. “You could have gotten that from someone else,” he replies, shaking his head.

“Okay, then October 23rd was your first date. The 25th was your first kiss. You never liked talking about feelings, so you two weren’t official until he made you sit down and talk about it, but that took about a month, cue November 24th being your anniversary.” Her eyebrows raise as if challenging Tony to deny what she’s saying, and they stare at each other, both tense and rigid. The rest of the group is still confused. Tony was dating someone?

Tony merely shrugs before taking another drink, ignoring Carol and how the information she’s saying is true, and something that really only he and Peter would know about. He hasn't told anyone about his relationship with Peter. There was too much going on, and most people wouldn’t have agreed to him dating a fifteen year old at the time, but they’d been together for over a year now.  _ Had _ been together for over a year. The word felt bitter and heavy even when Tony was only thinking it.

The team glances at Carol, clearly still confused but also uncomfortable with the tension hanging in the air. “In your right pocket is an engagement ring. It’s made of red and gold alloy, so that it matches your IronMan suit. In the center instead of a diamond is a piece of your arc reactor, the original one, the one that actually protected your heart from being destroyed. And the inscription on the inside says  _ my heart, my sunshine, I love you _ because you always said that Peter was like a ray of sunshine, so that’s where the nickname came from. You put the arc reactor piece there because you still think the joke ‘Tony Stark has a heart’ is funny, but in an engagement ring, you thought it had a deeper meaning. Because you always told Peter he was your heart, and that nothing would come between you. Is that enough to prove that he’s been watching over your ungratefully arrogant ass?”

The room was silent, the tension growing heavier with each passing second because now all of Tony’s secrets were laid out. Everyone was staring wide-eyed between the two of them. No one was use to a particularly soft or sentimental side of Tony, not even Pepper or Rhodey, but what Carol had explained was something so intimate and personal, it almost felt wrong for them to know about it.

“H-How… How could  _ you _ know about that?” Tony hisses, and his hands are clearly shaking as he curls them into tight fists. “How could you know a damn thing about Peter and I?”

“Because Peter told me,” Carol respondes, taking a step closer to Tony even though there’s nearly half a room between them.

“Peter can’t tell you anything! Peter died on Titan thanks to Thanos! He died in my arms! I held him as he turned to ash. How the fuck would he be able tell you anything?” Tony shouts, voice shaking and filled with pain as angry tears fill his eyes.

“Because I can see the people Thanos has been hiding away in the Soul Stone. When he ‘killed’ all those people, they merely were trapped inside the Soul Stone with the reality of our world being warped to hide them due to the Reality Stone. He’s here. He’s never left your side. While he may be gone from physical view, he can come back. If you help us fight Thanos, we can get him back. Once the Stones are destroyed, specifically the Soul and Reality, Thanos’ deed will be reversed. Everyone from everywhere that is hiding in those Stones will be returned to normal. They will be fully functional, and it will be like nothing happened to them. They will be safe and unharmed. They will have aged accordingly, but it has only been a matter of weeks, so the only big changes will be with infants and small children. Peter, along with the rest of your team, will be back on Earth since they have all followed you around. They have chosen to stay close in the hopes that when we free them, they can help with the last part of the battle. We might even be able to bring back your friend, The Vision, if we can separate the Mind Stone without destroying it, and if the Time Stone is kept intact as well, Strange may be able to use it to save the people that Thanos had killed prior. So, I ask you not as myself but as everyone who was lost in the fight against Thanos, I ask you as Peter, will you help us save them?”

Taken aback by everything that Carol has said, Tony leans heavily against the bar, rubbing his forehead tiredly as he fights back the tears still threatening to fall. He swears that if he didn’t know better, it felt like a familiar pair of arms was wrapped around his torso, hugging him tight. It even felt like soft fingertips were brushing the tears away from under his eyes before pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“You can feel him, can’t you?” Carol asks. She’s walking towards Tony, stepping over the mess before standing in front of him. Her voice drops, so that no one can hear besides them. “He’s here. He’s holding you, wanting to comfort you. If you help us, we can get him back. You can live your life together happily.”

Tony glances up at her before looking down again, staring at his still shaking hands. The nonexistent arms seem to tighten around him, and he lets his eyes close for a few seconds before giving a small nod. “Fine, I’ll help you.”

The smile that Carol offers him, for once dropping the tough and harsh persona that has been surrounding her since she entered, is one that Tony can see a glimmer of Peter in. Carol is also young it seems, now that he can really see her without her looking as if she wants to ram the bottle of whiskey on the bar down his throat. She reaches out and gently pats his shoulder before whispering, “He loves you. Wants me to tell you that he’ll always love you, and that his answer to your unasked question is yes.”

Tony nods slightly, his own faint smile curling at the edge of his lips as he feels another soft imaginary kiss. He thinks he must be going crazy, but all the head damage he’s suffered from through the past ten years is bound to make anyone go crazy. “Yeah, I figured he’d say that. Love you too, kid,” he says softly.

He takes a moment to himself, fighting the tremors before turning away from the bar. He's already halfway to the elevators before he calls back to the team. “Are you coming or not?”

The rest of the group blink, having missed the part where Tony had agreed to help them, but once he asks, the tension fully disappears within the room. “You're helping us?” Steve asks with a grin, already beginning to walk towards the other.

“Yeah, I guess. Might as well at least give you the suits.” Tony merely shrugs before hitting the down button of the elevator. The Avengers plus Pepper quickly gather around, waiting for the doors to open before following him inside. He hits the button for his lab before leaning heavily against the side. He's still exhausted, now severely worn out from everything.

The ride is a bit uncomfortable. No one really knowing what to say now that Tony's secrets are out. When the doors open, Tony steps out and takes a few steps before stopping immediately. The team stop behind him, looking to where his eyes seem drawn.

Along the back wall of the lab is suits labelled with various letters and numbers. The first sixteen all are various forms of Tony's standard IronMan uniform but with the first case empty. They assume that one was the one that Tony had worn to battle. It had pretty much been ruined by the time the team had gotten him.

Tony's eyes weren't on that one though. He was distracted by the other empty case, 17A. The rest were confused, not sure as to why two suits would be missing until they glanced at the other 17s. B and C were both displayed, and both were very similar to the point that they could only assume A also matched. The suit was nothing they were familiar with, but there was a spider in the center of the chest that spread up, and the reoccurring color was red. One of them was red and gold, very similar to Tony's usual colors, and the other was a much deeper red shade coupled with black, most likely for hiding in the night. 

“FRIDAY, put 17A, B, and C away,” Tony suddenly spoke. His tone was exhausted and defeated, and when the cases turned dark and folded back up into the wall, he finally looked away.

“What's wrong with 17?” Rhodey asks, watching as Tony walks deeper into the lab. When he passes a certain bench, he knocks on the metal surface before halting, glancing at the chair before sighing and shaking his head.

“17 is Peter's suits,” is the only explanation he offers. His palm flattens against the desk, Peter's desk, for a few seconds before he's walking away again.

It's heartbreaking being in the lab again. He has refused to enter it after Titan, even abandoning his suit in desperate need of repairs in favor of just not being in the space. It was so filled with memories of Peter that it was too difficult to be in the area. Old habits he had made, like always knocking on Peter's desk when he past to either get the kid’s attention or just see him jump and blush or allowing Peter to leave his supplies out on the desk including things for school. But he pushes through everything to walk to the back screen to check the condition of all the remaining suits, all three 17s now darkened and removed from the screen.

The team glance between each other while remaining silent, not wanting to bring up the obviously difficult topic. “Okay, so 18 on, they don't look like IronMan suits,” Clint says in a way to deter the conversation and the tension beginning to build again.

“They're not. 18 to 26 is for the Avengers. I made everyone a suit out of the Nanometal material that my most recent suit is made from. I attempted to make it into things that could be worn discreetly or at least wear normally without causing too much difficulty. You don't have to wear them of course, but I thought that I'd take into account what you all do best.” Tony states as he begins to type on the screen.

“You even made us suits?” Steve asks in mild shock as he looks over a uniform that looks distinctly like that of his old one, a dark star in the center that's clearly metal of some kind. Next to it is a suit with a missing arm, and Steve has to look away from that one because it clearly is made for Bucky.

“Of course I did. Even though we weren't talking, I had always hoped that'd we be able to fix things. Get the team back together,” he shrugs slightly. “Made one for everyone who needed one. Sorry, Thor. I figured you wouldn't want anything but your Asgardian armor, and at the time, you weren't around. I can always make you one if you'd like later.”

The team looks at each other, bittersweet smiles on their lips. Even when they had all abandoned Tony, he had still thought of them, prepared in case something would happen. “Thank you, Tony.” Steve says sincerely as he walks up and gently clasps the man on the shoulder.

Tony shrugs before hitting a button and the suits begin to open. “Everyone’s breaks down into something smaller to wear. I recommend grabbing them for now and breaking them down to put on the smaller piece instead of trying to get into the big one. Grab Wanda's, Sam’s, and Barnes’ too. They might need it if you think we're going to be getting them back in time to finish Thanos…”

 

Getting in another fight with Thanos seemed absolutely insane. In fact, it was insane by definition, but the Avengers stood in their new uniforms created by Tony, and each felt slightly more secure than the first time. They had had time to practice moving, fighting, and activating some of the features specific to each person, so they knew that they had some tricks up their sleeves they had lacked beforehand.

Still, the battle was nothing easy. They were trying to get Thanos either distracted enough or get his hand restricted to the point that Thor could take over, but now with the power of Six Stones, it was proving to be exceptionally difficult.

“Pathetic. Did you really think you could stop me? What are you even fighting for?” Thanos calls, mocking laughter bubbling from his throat afterwards. “The Avenger Initiative is cut in half, and yet you still fight. What for…” He trails off with a smirk.

Natasha attempts to run at him from behind, but somehow he senses her even though her uniform has made her footsteps silent. In a flash of purple light, she’s flung across the battlefield, crashing into Bruce and knocking him down as well.

With a grind of his teeth, Tony attempts to make another attack, grabbing Thanos’ hand and holding it open, but he is also quickly tossed to the side as if he were nothing but a mere doll. Steve uses the distraction to land a harsh kick to the gut as well as a slam to the head with his new shield.

Thanos laughs again before grabbing the captain by the throat and throwing him towards the treeline. This time in a flash of dark blue and red, Carol grabs Thanos’ left hand with a shout, and suddenly in a massive bolt of lightning and a scream of anguish, every single other member of the team is flung backwards as a sudden burst of energy comes from Thanos’ gauntlet.

With ears ringing, Tony lifts his head, having ended up on his back some hundred yards away from Thanos, to see a clump of people in the spot where Thanos once was. Given the enormous hole in the treeline behind where the giant once was, Tony guessed he had also been flung back due to the random blast.

He looks around, sitting himself up and noticing how several of the Avengers are also beginning to get up. Once he’s on his feet, he tries to take in the clump of people spread very close together. He recognizes a few of them instantly. There’s Strange with his stupidly dedicated cape. The idiot Quill and his two partners, Drax and Mantis. Sam still fully in his Falcon gear. Wanda is even beginning to get up with the help of Barnes.

“What the fuck…” he whispers as he sees the people that had all died as a cause of Thanos’ snap. Suddenly, without even realizing it, he’s blasting himself to stand beside them, taking a quick log of everyone. The others are also rushing over, calling out to certain people and embracing some of the ones that they had lost.

Tony’s heart sinks. Nowhere in this jumble of people is Peter. There’s even a talking tree that keeps saying the same three words and is busy being embraced by Thor’s raccoon friend and the other people from Titan, but his sunshine isn’t here. Peter didn’t come back. Why did he even think that the world would allow him another chance? After all the mistakes he’s done, after all the people that have died by his hands, why would the universe give him another chance to be happy? Another chance to fuck things up?

He sighs softly, fighting the tears that threaten to fall before his helmet appears over his face once more. “Hate to break up the reunion and all, but we’ve got company,” he points out as the heavy footsteps signalling Thanos’ return are heard. “Steve, give Sam the watch and Barnes the belt. Wanda, here, take this,” he says, tossing her a bracelet.

She stares in confusion before putting it on. Natasha reaches out and double taps the bracelet, and with that, a neometal uniform covers her body. “What is this?” she asks curiously, her accent thicker than normal, but maybe that’s just because it’s been so long since any of them have hear her voice.

“It’s a suit. Tony made it. It’ll help keep you safe,” Clint says quickly, and Sam and Bucky are both in uniforms as well.

“Time to fight!” Steve calls as Thanos appears through the tree with fury in his eyes. The fingers on his left hand are gone, all except his thumb, and there’s dark blood dripping from the stubs.

“Filthy mortals,” he snarls before running at the group. The Avengers, along with their friends, scatter before becoming fully involved in the fight once more. As the minutes pass, Thanos, even without four of his Stones since they have been entirely destroyed by Stormbreaker, is a lot stronger than they had truly thought, especially now that he’s furious.

Tony, upon seeing a way to stop Thanos, to hold him down long enough for Thor to actually kill the asshole, dives forward, going to grab the giant and anchor himself into the ground using his suit. The blast coupled with the lightning will probably cause him severe damage, might even kill him, but right now, Tony doesn’t think that sounds so bad. Peter is gone. He didn’t come back with the others. He didn’t deserve another chance, but Peter did. It hurt to know that Peter wouldn’t be able to live his life, but if Tony died, at least they’d be together, right?

He dives forward, just about close enough to get Thanos when suddenly he’s being kicked dead in the center of his chest, and he’s sent flying backwards. Rhodey manages to grab him before he’s gone too far, and when he’s standing there, waiting for the world to stop spinning, his heart stops.

Standing in all his glory, using one of his webs to pull back Thanos’ not injured arm, is Peter. He’s still in the IronSpider uniform, but Tony knows that it’s Peter. His shape, the lithe and small body in the tight material with muscles flexing as he uses as much of his strength as he can, Tony would know it anywhere. “Peter,” he whispers softly, barely even loud enough for his own ears to catch it.

It happens in a second, and suddenly, Thanos is on the ground. Thor is standing above him, panting heavily before glancing at the small figure near him. “Thank you, young hero,” he says with a tired smile. He turns back to the figure lying spread on the ground, bleeding from the wound on his head. Stormbreaker is suddenly back in his hand, and when Thor turns to look back at everyone else, a breathless laugh is shared between them all.

The team quickly moves together, looking down at Thanos and making sure that he is in fact dead this time. Thor had taken his advice, had gone directly for the head. It was likely that he was dead before he even hit the ground, but that didn’t stop them from gently poking the lying figure.

“Thank Jesus, the fucker’s dead,” Quill sighs, looking at his own team before glancing at the Avengers, specifically Tony since he’s the only one he knows. “Thanks for the help,” he says, and it’s clear that he’s slightly awkward about the words.

Tony nods, but before he can say anything, there’s a small body in front of him. “What the  _ fuck _ were you doing?” the voice screams at him, hitting him hard in the chest. “Were you trying to get yourself killed?”

“Peter,” Tony breaths, reaching out for the smaller man.

Suddenly his mask is gone, and tears are filling Tony’s eyes. Peter’s face is exposed now, and there’s tears already trickling down his cheeks which are flushed a pale red. “What the hell, Tony? Were you trying to die?” he cries, hitting the man again in the chest.

“Peter,” Tony whispers louder this time, reaching out and pulling the young man into his arms.

“No, answer me!” he cries, trying to push away from the man while also leaning into him.

“I… I didn’t think you were coming back,” Tony admits, burying his nose in those soft and familiar curls as he holds his partner tight to his chest. His voice is growing more strained and more tight as he continues to fight his own tears, especially now that Peter is openly crying into his chest. “You weren’t here, everyone else was…”

“That’s because I went flying. I’m like a hundred and twenty pounds if that! It’s physics, Tony!” Peter shakes his head and hides deeper in Tony’s chest, tightening his arms around the older man and squeezing him tightly. “If I hadn’t made it in time, you could have died. You could have  _ died. _ What would I have done then?” he whispers brokenly, sniffing loudly as his smaller frame shakes against Tony’s chest.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he whispers over and over into the gentle curls tickling his nose. He presses kisses to the crown of Peter’s head, squeezing his arms tighter around the boy. “I’m so sorry, Peter.”

“Don’t scare me like that…” he whispers against Tony’s shoulder.

“Don’t leave me again,” Tony responds instantly. Peter pulls back a bit, looking up at the taller man and stretching up on his toes until their foreheads gently knock together as well as their noses.

“I promise to never leave you again,” he whispers before gently pressing his lips to the elder’s. Tony responds quickly, kissing back with a desperate need to simply feel the other, to know that Peter is real, is back, is alive. Peter quickly returns the desperate passion, arms wrapping tightly around the other’s shoulders, as he presses himself close to the other.

With a soft hum, Peter gently pulls away, giggling as Tony steals another few small pecks. “I love you,” he whispers, looking up at the man with his eyes filled with love.

“I love you too, sunshine.” Tony’s sure that his own eyes look a lot like Peter’s right now, and the smile on his lips is probably one of those disgustingly sappy ones, but he can’t help it. Peter is currently wrap up in his arms, and he doesn’t plan to ever let him go again.

The sound of a throat clearing is the only thing that seems to break the bubble around the two lovers. Tony glances to the team, seeing the confused, wide-eyed looks that he’s getting, and he chuckles before kissing the boy’s lips gently again. “Oh, I bet you’re all pretty confused.” The nods he gets cause another chuckle to fall from him as he pulls Peter against his side before turning towards the team. “Peter, this is the team. Guys, this is Peter, my boyfriend.”

“Fiance,” Peter chirps, smiling up at Tony with another faint giggle.

“I haven’t ask you anything yet,” Tony grumbles.

“But I’ve seen it. And you were planning to ask soon. On my birthday.” Peter has a shit-eating grin on his face, and he gently bumps his hip against the other’s. “Besides, you already know what I’d say.”

“Can we pretend that you don’t know about it?” he sighs, shaking his head before looking back to the team. The looks they’re getting are an interesting mix: confusion, worry, joy.

“Can… I ask something?” Rhodey asks gently. When he gains the attention of the couple, he glances between them before looking down at Peter. Now that he can actually see his face, he realizes that he really is a  _ kid _ . He’s got some fat still in his cheeks. His eyes are so big and round, and there’s an innocent and almost puppy charm to them. “How… old are you?” he asks tenderly, almost as if he’s nervous about the answer. Tony immediately tightens up a bit; this is exactly why they had been keeping their relationship a secret. Even though everything was perfectly legal, people would always be bound to disapprove.

“I’m sixteen,” Peter answers before Tony can say anything, “almost seventeen.” This seems to confuse and shock the group a bit, but before anyone can really say anything, Natasha is the one that speaks up.

“Well, you're old enough to make your own decisions. Can’t wait to see who’s gonna be the Best Men or Women at the wedding.” She has a smile that’s truly genuine. Tony nods gently at her, and he glances between the others.

“You know, as long as I get an invite, I don’t really care. Who’s wearing the dress though? Because I’d paid for it to be Tony,” Sam speaks up with a smirk.

“Oh, hell yeah. I'd pay to see that too,” Clint quickly adds.

“I think we all would.” Bucky is smirking from his place beside Steve, keeping his robotic arm tight around the other's waist.

Peter squeaks before hitting Tony’s chest again. “I told you there was probably something more than just  _ friends _ between them!” Instantly Steve is flushing and trying to hide, and Tony rolls his eyes before pulling Peter closer.

“Hush you, leave them alone.” He presses another kiss to Peter’s cheekbone, and the younger chuckles before his knuckles rapt on Tony’s arc reactor.

“I’m still mad at you. First, you were drinking too much. Then, you try and be all noble and self-sacrifice yourself. I should make you sleep on the couch.” Peter sighs, shaking his head while still curling into his partner.

“I’m sorry,” Tony says again, squeezing Peter tight.

“I think we’ve all made some mistakes, but that’s war. We lose people. We don’t always know how to react to it. But now, the battle is over, and we got the Team back. I think it’s time to just clean up, get checked out, and relax for a bit.” Steve speaks for the first time, the tone everyone dubbed as the ‘Captain’s Voice’ in full play.

“Well, I’ve freed the Mind and Time Stones from the gauntlet, so maybe we can work on getting The Vision and the others back while we heal,” Thor states, holding the two stones in his hand without actually touching them. Dr. Strange walks forward, his locket opening as he holds out his hand for the Time Stone.

“I can use it. Try and fix some of Thanos’ mistakes while Stark works on The Vision.” He receives a nod from Thor before the Stone is returned to him, placed back in the locket as the spell is recast to tie his life directly to it.

“Alright, everybody. We’ve got a plan to execute and a wedding to plan,” Steve grins, winking at Peter, who laughs at the response, and Tony, who grumbles since his entire surprise is completely gone. T’Challa, now that he had returned with the others, was more than willing to provide a place for the team to shower, change, and have a quick medical evaluation.

As the Avengers coupled with the Guardians and their other new friends began to walk towards the castle, Tony began to feel a weight lifted off his shoulders that he didn’t know he had. His deepest, darkest secret had been revealed to the team, and surprisingly they had accepted him and Peter without much difficulty. He could tell a few of them were uncomfortable or at least maybe just weirded out, but they weren’t threatening to skin him for dating a teenager. Instead, they were all joking about planning his wedding when he hadn’t actually even asked Peter to marry him yet. It was nice, actually very nice, to not have to hide anymore, and so he took the opportunity to hold his partner closer to him, happy to have that familiar weight and warmth against his side once more. Everything was better with Peter at his side, and now that he was back, Tony was never letting go again. He’d never lose his sunshine ever again.


End file.
